Sunday, December 29, 2013

The votes are in, and The Konformist readers have spoken. Jerry Sandusky is your choice for the 2013 Beast of the Year - a choice that is well deserved.

If there is any lesson to be learned in this year's BOTY victory, it's this: people don't like child molestors. That succinctly explains how Sandusky won an award normally garnered by someone or something heavily inovled in control of the political or economic system. Not that political control is completely missing from the Sandusky sex abuse scandal: left uninvestigated are allegations that wealthy individuals were involved in sex abuse as well, which would explain the unusually speedy trial Sandusky faced.

Runner-Up: Justin Bieber

In the unlikely event that Sandusky can no longer fill his duties as Beast of the Year, Justin Bieber is ready to take over the crown. Rest assured the BOTY trophy is in good hands either way.

In any case, we salute you, Jerry and Justin. Congratulations, and keep up the great work, dudes!!!

One nominee was chosen each month from May 2012 to April 2013. Here are the choices:

May 2012: Rupert Murdoch
Let's forget for a minute that Murdoch runs the most ruthlessly dishonest right-wing media empire in the world. Let's forget also that while it's been uncovered that his outlets have been engaging in widespread computer hacking while he has hypocritically pushed for tougher laws against cyber criminals. Just ask this: if the names "Murdoch" and "News Corp" were taken out of the story, and the evidence of the widespread hacking were reported in the news, would this guy be in jail?

June 2012: Nicolas Sarkozy
While losing his re-election campaign for France's President, Sarkozy became the face for the failed austerity movement in Europe and the voter backlash against it. That may be a tad unfair (the real culprit isn't Sarkozy, it's the IMF) but he's been such a toad to both Bush and Obama, he deserves little sympathy.

July 2012: Jerry Sandusky
There really is a slam dunk choice in BOTM with a guy who engaged in serial pedophilia for well over a decade, aided with a coverup by institutional leaders of one of the most powerful colleges in the US. That is scandalous enough, but left uncovered is allegations that Sandusky was providing kids to others richer and more powerful, allegations that indicate Sandusky is a scapegoat in his own right.

August 2012: Justin Beiber
Perhaps this pick doesn't need to be elaborated on. The question is simply this: "Why is this guy still around?"

September 2012: Dan Cathy
It seems strange that the question of eating a chicken sandwich would hold so much political importance. But as Cathy has pushed an anti-gay agenda through his Chick-fil-A profits and even used the company itself to promote his views, it has become a ground zero in the battle of gay rights and gay marriage.

October 2012: Innocence of Muslims
Rarely has a movie made such an impact on politics as this one, although here the term "movie" is used loosely since there's no evidence this film actually exists. Nevertheless, the excerpts of this "film" on YouTube make this an attempted October Surprise apparently organized by far-right CIA operatives, anti-Islam Fundamentalist Christians, and Israel through it's Mossad espionage outfit.

November 2012: Todd Akin
Why did the Republicans get their asses kicked in the 2012 election? Sorry, Mitt Romney wasn't the real problem, the real problem was the GOP candidates just plain scared most Americans. And nobody perfectly represented this scariness like Akins, who led off a "Rape Brigade" of rogues who just couldn't stop talking about rape in a stunningly offensive way.

December 2012: SuperPACs
For all the Democratic victories, the real winner of the 2012 election was still money and the corruptive influence of SuperPAcs on democracy. And it seems that the negative influence of the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling will only continue in the coming years.

January 2013: Benjamin Netanyahu
Okay, The Konformist concedes the complexitites of Middle East politics can't be fairly reduced to a snarky paragraph placing all the blame on one bad "Beast" character. Still, Bibi, the current Israeli Prime Minister and head of the Likud Party, is the ideological equivalent of the Neocons that drove the US to Iraq War disaster. Meanwhile, it's time to acknowledge that when comparing the treatment of the Palestinians to apartheid-era abuses, Israel could be fairly described as little more than South Africa with bagels.

February 2013: Piers Morgan
Let's pretend for a second that the establishment media caricature of Infowars.com star Alex Jones as a paranoid nutjob is essentially correct. (And as entertaining as his surreal performance on Piers Morgan's show may have been, we concede he made the case very easy.) Even if that was true, he still came off better than Morgan in the gun control debate. Meanwhile, Morgan is as heavily involved in the British tabloid hacking scandal as Rupert Murdoch, a fact that has been unreported.

March 2013: Zero Dark Thirty
Sometimes Beastly art is just poorly made. (If you need examples, watch a few Pauly Shore films.) And sometimes Beastly art is well made but offensive. Case in point: Zero Dark Thirty, the cinematic glorification of the alleged Osama bin Laden assassination, which dabbled in apologism for torture and traded artistic integrity by becoming a mouthpiece for the CIA and Pentagon.

April 2013: Cardinal Keith O’Brien
Less than eight years after assuming the papacy, Benedict XVI called it quits, amid widespread evidence that his rise in the church hieracrchy was linked to his coverup of pedophilia among priests. The corrupt nature of selecting his replacement is highlighted by O'Brien, who only was excluded from the conclave by his own choice after revelations of abusing his position for demands of homosexual sex. This despite Cardinal O'Brien pushing the Catholic Church's anti-gay agenda publicly.

One nominee was chosen each month from May 2012 to April 2013. Here are the choices:

May 2012: Rupert Murdoch
Let's forget for a minute that Murdoch runs the most ruthlessly dishonest right-wing media empire in the world. Let's forget also that while it's been uncovered that his outlets have been engaging in widespread computer hacking while he has hypocritically pushed for tougher laws against cyber criminals. Just ask this: if the names "Murdoch" and "News Corp" were taken out of the story, and the evidence of the widespread hacking were reported in the news, would this guy be in jail?

June 2012: Nicolas Sarkozy
While losing his re-election campaign for France's President, Sarkozy became the face for the failed austerity movement in Europe and the voter backlash against it. That may be a tad unfair (the real culprit isn't Sarkozy, it's the IMF) but he's been such a toad to both Bush and Obama, he deserves little sympathy.

July 2012: Jerry Sandusky
There really is a slam dunk choice in BOTM with a guy who engaged in serial pedophilia for well over a decade, aided with a coverup by institutional leaders of one of the most powerful colleges in the US. That is scandalous enough, but left uncovered is allegations that Sandusky was providing kids to others richer and more powerful, allegations that indicate Sandusky is a scapegoat in his own right.

August 2012: Justin Beiber
Perhaps this pick doesn't need to be elaborated on. The question is simply this: "Why is this guy still around?"

September 2012: Dan Cathy
It seems strange that the question of eating a chicken sandwich would hold so much political importance. But as Cathy has pushed an anti-gay agenda through his Chick-fil-A profits and even used the company itself to promote his views, it has become a ground zero in the battle of gay rights and gay marriage.

October 2012: Innocence of Muslims
Rarely has a movie made such an impact on politics as this one, although here the term "movie" is used loosely since there's no evidence this film actually exists. Nevertheless, the excerpts of this "film" on YouTube make this an attempted October Surprise apparently organized by far-right CIA operatives, anti-Islam Fundamentalist Christians, and Israel through it's Mossad espionage outfit.

November 2012: Todd Akin
Why did the Republicans get their asses kicked in the 2012 election? Sorry, Mitt Romney wasn't the real problem, the real problem was the GOP candidates just plain scared most Americans. And nobody perfectly represented this scariness like Akins, who led off a "Rape Brigade" of rogues who just couldn't stop talking about rape in a stunningly offensive way.

December 2012: SuperPACs
For all the Democratic victories, the real winner of the 2012 election was still money and the corruptive influence of SuperPAcs on democracy. And it seems that the negative influence of the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling will only continue in the coming years.

January 2013: Benjamin Netanyahu
Okay, The Konformist concedes the complexitites of Middle East politics can't be fairly reduced to a snarky paragraph placing all the blame on one bad "Beast" character. Still, Bibi, the current Israeli Prime Minister and head of the Likud Party, is the ideological equivalent of the Neocons that drove the US to Iraq War disaster. Meanwhile, it's time to acknowledge that when comparing the treatment of the Palestinians to apartheid-era abuses, Israel could be fairly described as little more than South Africa with bagels.

February 2013: Piers Morgan
Let's pretend for a second that the establishment media caricature of Infowars.com star Alex Jones as a paranoid nutjob is essentially correct. (And as entertaining as his surreal performance on Piers Morgan's show may have been, we concede he made the case very easy.) Even if that was true, he still came off better than Morgan in the gun control debate. Meanwhile, Morgan is as heavily involved in the British tabloid hacking scandal as Rupert Murdoch, a fact that has been unreported.

March 2013: Zero Dark Thirty
Sometimes Beastly art is just poorly made. (If you need examples, watch a few Pauly Shore films.) And sometimes Beastly art is well made but offensive. Case in point: Zero Dark Thirty, the cinematic glorification of the alleged Osama bin Laden assassination, which dabbled in apologism for torture and traded artistic integrity by becoming a mouthpiece for the CIA and Pentagon.

April 2013: Cardinal Keith O’Brien
Less than eight years after assuming the papacy, Benedict XVI called it quits, amid widespread evidence that his rise in the church hieracrchy was linked to his coverup of pedophilia among priests. The corrupt nature of selecting his replacement is highlighted by O'Brien, who only was excluded from the conclave by his own choice after revelations of abusing his position for demands of homosexual sex. This despite Cardinal O'Brien pushing the Catholic Church's anti-gay agenda publicly.

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Kansas City Chiefs (-3) over Washington Redskins
Yes, the Chiefs weren't as good as their 9-0 record would suggest four weeks ago, but they are too good to lose a fourth game in a row.

Baltimore Ravens (-6) over Minnesota Vikings
Weather will play a factor this week, and the Ravens will dominate the indoor-home Vikings.

New York Jets (-2 1/2) over Oakland Raiders
Jets at home versus the West Coast Raiders? I'm betting on the weather again.

New Orleans Saints (-3) over Carolina Panthers
The Saints are just too dominating at home for this spread.

Philadelphia Eagles (-2 1/2) over Detroit Lions
Even without the freezing Philly weather, I'd take the Eagles with the hottest offense in the NFL.

Pittsburgh Steelers (-3 1/2) over Miami Dolphins
The Steelers have toughed out a difficult season and may make the playoffs. Look for them to get closer to the goal after this game.

Tennessee Titans (+12 1/2) over Denver Broncos
I'm betting against Peyton in the cold, even at home.

Arizona Cardinals (-6) over St. Louis Rams
The Cards are quietly becoming a playoff threat, and should soundly beat the Rams minus Sam Bradford.

San Diego Chargers (-3) over New York Giants
I just never bought in to the Giants this year. The Chargers, for all their inconsistencies, are the better team.

Seattle Seahawks (+2 1/2) over San Francisco 49ers
I've been skeptical of them all year, but the Hawks should be 12-1 after this week.

Green Bay Packers (-3) over Atlanta Falcons
For all the Packers problems (actually, it's just one: Aaron Rodgers is injured) the Falcons are looking far worse.

Dallas Cowboys (+1 1/2) over Chicago Bears
The Cowboys are a team nobody is paying attention to, even though they are one team who can knock off the Seahawks on the road. Look for a W against the Bears.